Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Happy & Prosperous New Year for all the friends / readers....This is one of the tangerines from Jeju Island, is a new product, we call it 황금향/"Huang-Gum-Hiang". Is sweet and juicy, the skin is thin....The harvest season is from September to December..这是其中之一来自济州岛的柑，是新品种，我们称它为 "Huang-Gum-Hiang/황금향"。果肉甜又多果汁，果皮很薄。。收成季节是从 9 月到 12 月。。。

Monday, December 29, 2014

Dear readers, do you know that Balloonflower is good for the treatment of coughs and colds ? In Korea, we do use the root of the balloonflower to mix with the honey, eat it when we have cough. Here is another way to eat Doraji, fry it and eat it with the Korean red pepper paste dressing...

Platycodon grandiflorus (from Greek "πλατυκώδων", meaning a broad bell) is a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the familyCampanulaceae, and the only member of its genus. This species is known as platycodon or Chinese bellflower. Depending upon the region, it is also referred to as the Japanese bellflower, common balloon flower, or balloon flower (referring to the balloon-shaped flower buds). It is native to East Asia (China, Korea, Japan and East Siberia) and bears blue flowers whose five petals are fused together into a bell shape at the base, like its relatives, the campanulas. The flowers appear in mid- to late summer, and there are varieties with white, pink and purple blooms in cultivation. In Korea, white flowers are more common

The root of this species (radix platycodi) is used extensively as an anti-inflammatory in the treatment of coughs and colds. In Korea, the plant is known as doraji (도라지) and its root, either dried or fresh, is a popular ingredient in salads and traditional cuisine

Saturday, December 27, 2014

In Korea, autumn is the harvest season for oysters. Oyster is one of the Korean favourite seafood. We can either fry the oyster pancake, cook the oyster seaweed soup or just marinate it with red pepper powder etc...In autumn, this is one of the ingredients for making kimchi.

在韩国，秋季是鲜蚝盛产的季节，鲜蚝是韩国人的最爱之一。蚝的吃法也多样化，炸鲜蚝饼，海带鲜蚝汤，凉拌鲜蚝等。。。秋季制作泡菜时也用蚝。

( This recipe is written in Chinese & English )

The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of different families of saltwater clams, bivalvemolluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not all, oysters are in the superfamily Ostreoidea.
Some kinds of oysters are commonly consumed, cooked or raw, by humans as a delicacy. Some kinds of pearl oysters are harvested for the pearl produced within the mantle. Windowpane oysters are harvested for their translucent shells, which are used to make various kinds of decorative objects.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Red Bean Puree with glutinous rice balls is served on the winter solstice, we call it "Patjook" in Korean.

每一年的 12月22日是冬至（동지 )，韩国人也在这一天庆祝这节日。华族在这一天搓汤圆，韩国人则在这一天煮红豆羹/粥庆祝冬至。。。。( This recipe is written in Chinese & English)

The Winter Solstice Festival or The Extreme of Winter (Chinese and Japanese: 冬至; Korean: 동지; Vietnamese:Đông chí) (Pinyin: Dōng zhì), (Rōmaji: Tōji), (Romaja:Dongji) is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the dongzhisolar term on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the dongzhisolar term.The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Chinghexagramfù (復, "Returning").Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan (湯圓, as pronounced in MandarinPinyin: Tāng Yuán) or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion. In Korea, similar balls of glutinous rice (Korean: 새알심) (English pronunciation:Saealsim), is prepared in a traditional porridge made with sweet red bean (Korean: 팥죽) (English pronunciation:Patjook). Patjook was believed to have a special power and sprayed around houses on winter solstice to repel sinister spirits. This practice was based on a traditional folk tale, in which the ghost of a man that used to hate patjook comes haunting innocent villagers on the winter solstice.(source : Wikipedia )

Method :1. Soak the beans for a few hours, till soft2. Bring to boil until they are very soft3.. Drain the beans, keep the water4. Grind the beans with 1 cup of water ( the water which we use to boil the bean) in a food processor5. Boil the ground beans,water,glutinous rice powder,honey,salt and sugar together6. Put the glutinous rice powder in a bowl, add in salt,warm water,sugar,mix it well. Form this into small balls.cook the rice balls in boiling water7. Put the glutinous rice balls in the red bean puree

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Pain de campagne ("country bread" in French), also called "French Sourdough," is typically a large round loaf ("miche") made from either natural leavening or bakers yeast. Most traditional versions of this bread are made with a combination of white flour with whole wheat flour and/or rye flour, water, leavening and salt. For centuries, French villages had communal ovens where the townsfolk would bring their dough to be baked, and the miches weighed from four to as much as twelve pounds. Such large loaves would feed a family for days or weeks, until the next baking day.
Before the advent of roller milling, virtually all wheat was milled by stone grinding. In order to produce a lighter, less toothsome bread, the whole wheat flour was sifted or bolted using mesh or cloth. This resulted in a whiter flour that still retained some of the bran and germ. The addition of rye flour in some recipes probably originates from the presence of rye growing among the wheat. All the grain was harvested together, and as much as 10 percent of it would be rye. Rye flour ferments more quickly than wheat flour, and it imparts a distinctive flavor to traditional pains de campagne.
When commercial yeast became readily available at the turn of the 20th century, pain de campagne fell out of favor in French cities, where it was replaced by the baguette. However, with the rise of artisan breads in the 1970s,[pain de campagne has been growing in popularity, both in Europe and the US.
Today pain de campagne is still made in France, and is enjoying a growing appreciation in the United States and the UK. When made traditionally, the dough is allowed to ferment for several hours, allowing the yeasts to grow and develop the flavors. The dough is then rounded and placed in linen-lined baskets called "bannetons". After the dough has risen, it is dumped out of the basket and onto peel, and slid into the oven where it bakes at around 240o C (450o F) for about one hour.
( source : wikipedia)

Thursday, December 18, 2014

"Kimchi With Love"/爱心泡菜
In Korea,autumn or the beginning of winter is the season for every Korean family to make kimchi, we call it " Kim Jang". Korean do gather together to make kimchi for those who are homeless,poor or old peoples, for winter consumption. These are " The Kimchi with love".在韩国，每逢秋末或早冬，那是韩国家家户户忙着做泡菜的季节，我们称为“Kim Jang”。韩国人也聚集在一块，集体为那些独居，贫困，乐龄人士做泡菜。这些都是“爱心泡菜”。

Monday, December 15, 2014

Dear friends, tangerines are most commonly peeled and eaten out of hand. The fresh fruit is also used in salads,desserts and main dishes. Instead of this, have you ever tried to eat the tangerines chips ?

Received a box of 15 kg organic tangerines from Jeju Island, as a gift from a friend.
The tangerines chips were sold on the Slow Food Festival which I visited last week, I tried to do it at home.The taste is good and crispy, eat the skin and the fresh together, I like this snack ^-^

Even though it is the organic tangerines, I still soak it in the water ( water & vinegar) for about 1 hour. Drain and rinse it before I slice it into thin pieces..
虽然是有机蜜柑，我还是将蜜柑泡在水中（ 水&醋） 一个小时。洗后，抹干后，将它切成薄片。。

Put the sliced tangerines on the dehydrator, to dehydrate it for about 10 hours..
将切好的蜜柑片放在食物烘干机上，约需 10小时的过程。。

Friday, December 12, 2014

Slow Food & Organic Farmers Festival is held at the AT Center in Yangjae,Seoul. Thanks Sarah Lee for inviting me, know more about Slow Food.
慢食运动&有机农展在首尔的Yangjae，AT Center举行。谢谢Sarah Lee的邀请，让我对慢食运动有更深的了解。。。

Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of the broader Slow Movement. The movement has since expanded globally to over 100,000 members in 150 countries. Its goals of sustainable foods and promotion of local small businesses are paralleled by a political agenda directed against globalization of agricultural products.

Objectives
The Slow Food movement incorporates a series of objectives within its mission, including:

developing an "Ark of Taste" for each ecoregion, where local culinary traditions and foods are celebrated

creating "Praesidia" grassroots organizations to promote slow foods to the public

Founder and President Carlo Petrini, believes "everyone has the right to good, clean and fair food." Good, meaning a high quality product with a flavorful taste, clean meaning the naturalness in the way the product was produced and transported and fair, meaning adequate pricing and treatment for both the consumers and producers.慢食运动（Slow Food）是由意大利人卡尔洛·佩特里尼提出，目的是对抗日益盛行的快餐。运动提倡维持单个生态区的饮食文化，使用与之相关的蔬果、促进当地饲养业及农业。亦是慢生活运动最先实行的一部分。至今，该运动已发展至全球122个国家，有超过83,000名会员。

2. After that, put in on a flat dish, sprinkle 1/2 cup of anchovy sauce on top of it, marinate it for about one hour. Must turn the spring onion for 1 or twice during this process. Remove the anchovy sauce from the spring onion, set aside.

3. Add in the red pepper powder, the anchovy sauce that was removed from step (2), add in another 1/2 cup of anchovy sauce,garlic,ginger and sugar in the glutinous rice paste.

4. Season the spring onion with sauce from step (3), add in sesame seeds.

5. Put it the container, place it under the room temperature for half day before you store it in the refrigerator.

( p/s: when I make this kimchi, I like to add in one pear's juice ( Korean pear,the skin is brown color) for marinating it, the taste will be better).材料：

Sunday, December 7, 2014

In Korea, we have small radish, we call it " artari알타리무 "/"chongkak mu총각무".... In Korean "총각" means "bachelor/single man/unmarried man". Today, let me show you how to make this "chongkak Mu Kimchi"​韩国萝卜的种类中，有一种是小小的，称它为" artari알타리무 "/"chongkak mu총각무"。 在韩文"총각"是指“单身汉/未婚者”。 今天就让我来向大家介绍 “ 小萝卜泡菜”的制作方法！

Method:1. Trim the leaf of the radish, leave the leaf for about 5cm long, wash the radish, if the bottom part of the radish is rather big, you may cut it into two,but don't break it2. Sprinkle 1/2 cup coarse salt & 1 Tsp sugar on the radish,(sprinkle more on the radish instead of the leaf.),set it aside for about 1 hour.3. After one hour, rinse the salted radish.4. Mix well all the ingredients for seasoning, add in radish,spring onion and pear.5. Put them in the container,ferment it for one day ,under the room temperature.After fermenting,place it in the refrigerator. Normally, the time required for fermenting , depends on the season; in summer, time required is shorter,in contrast, longer time in winter. Before you eat it, taste it whether is the suitable time for eating it.